What a film, seriously, all the way down to the zombie toxic waste death scene

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Tue Feb 04, 2014 6:24 pm

Sexual Chocolate

Director

Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:04 pmPosts: 1748Location: New Hampshire

Re: Last Movie You Watched

NotHughGrant wrote:

Just rewatched Robocop 87 on NetFlix.

What a film, seriously, all the way down to the zombie toxic waste death scene

It's such a great film, really one of the best sci-fi films ever made. Too bad the remake will probably suck.

_________________Death is pretty finalI'm collecting vinylI'm gonna DJ at the end of the world.

Tue Feb 04, 2014 7:52 pm

Vexer

Auteur

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:02 pmPosts: 3654Location: Zion, IL

Re: Last Movie You Watched

Sexual Chocolate wrote:

NotHughGrant wrote:

Just rewatched Robocop 87 on NetFlix.

What a film, seriously, all the way down to the zombie toxic waste death scene

It's such a great film, really one of the best sci-fi films ever made. Too bad the remake will probably suck.

While there's no way the remake can possible live up to the original film, I still think it will be pretty good overall(if nothing else, i'm sure people will at least like it more then Robocop 3, I don't believe i've met one person who liked that film).

Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:06 pm

patrick

Second Unit Director

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:57 pmPosts: 358

Re: Last Movie You Watched

Vexer wrote:

Sexual Chocolate wrote:

NotHughGrant wrote:

Just rewatched Robocop 87 on NetFlix.

What a film, seriously, all the way down to the zombie toxic waste death scene

It's such a great film, really one of the best sci-fi films ever made. Too bad the remake will probably suck.

While there's no way the remake can possible live up to the original film, I still think it will be pretty good overall(if nothing else, i'm sure people will at least like it more then Robocop 3, I don't believe i've met one person who liked that film).

....I like Robocop 3.

Though in terms of it being hilariously bad than any actual merits

Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:14 pm

nitrium

Director

Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 2:42 pmPosts: 1333Location: New Zealand

Re: Last Movie You Watched

American Hustle (2013)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1800241/As a sort of unholy child of Goodfellas and Argo (and an utter embarrassment to both parents), American Hustle seems to exist solely as an excuse to engage in meaningless 70's nostalgia (particularly evident in its soundtrack) rather than telling a compelling story or examine interesting characters. I won't bother discussing the details of this film, I simply didn't care about anyone or anything that happened in it. I was bored to tears on numerous occasions, but unfortunately not tired enough to sleep through it. Truly an Oscar turkey.5/10.

Tue Feb 04, 2014 8:15 pm

Vexer

Auteur

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:02 pmPosts: 3654Location: Zion, IL

Re: Last Movie You Watched

Robocop 3 was OK for me but you could tell they were running out of ideas at that point.

Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:02 pm

Ken

Director

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 6:26 pmPosts: 1728

Re: Last Movie You Watched

RoboCop 3's main problem was that it was made to sell toys. It's almost as if someone saw the kid-friendly version of the character in RoboCop 2 (which was played for satire) and thought "Gee, what a great idea!"

_________________The temptation is to like what you should like--not what you do like... another temptation is to come up with an interesting reason for liking it that may not actually be the reason you like it.

Tue Feb 04, 2014 9:20 pm

Gedmud

Second Unit Director

Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 1:43 pmPosts: 341

Re: Last Movie You Watched

I had a free day so I decided to watch movies. In short, I had a great day. So far I've watched 3 movies, all first time viewings, and I'm hoping to get one more in.

Midnight In Paries ***1/2

This is wonderful. The perfect blend of dreams and reality, literally. I found this rather inspiring, and important. I think the message of this film is so important, and so lost most of the time, and the way it was presented was so damn refreshing. I don't know why I chose it to be honest. Amidst all the current Woody Allen controversy, I realized I had never seen one of his films, I guess that could be why. I don't know if this is one of his better or lesser works, but I loved it.

Moon ****

4 star film for me, and I can't tell whether that will be surprising or not (unlike the movie I watched afterwards, I think). I had no idea what to expect when I started watching, and admittedly wasn't sure I had made the right choice. My hesitations were quickly kicked in the nuts and I realized I was in for something pretty awesome. I thought Sam Rockwell was great, and actually found a lot of moments really emotional. It created a really cool atmosphere and the fucking score was great.

City of God ****

This was not what I was expecting, nor did I really know what to expect. It was way, way, better than any idea I had in my mind. Was this story tightly written, directed, and edited or what? It reminded me a lot of some of Scorsese's work, whether that's justified or not I don't know, but I definitely felt the influence. And what a long list of good performances, especially from the characters who really didn't need to give them. Every small unimportant role felt genuine. Damn good moviemaking in my opinion.

_________________Sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel, and from here on out I'm not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I've already felt.

Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:40 pm

JamesKunz

Critic

Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:35 amPosts: 6010Location: Easton, MD

Re: Last Movie You Watched

Gedmud wrote:

City of God ****

This was not what I was expecting, nor did I really know what to expect. It was way, way, better than any idea I had in my mind. Was this story tightly written, directed, and edited or what? It reminded me a lot of some of Scorsese's work, whether that's justified or not I don't know, but I definitely felt the influence. And what a long list of good performances, especially from the characters who really didn't need to give them. Every small unimportant role felt genuine. Damn good moviemaking in my opinion.

I love this movie. One of my favorites. The storytelling is so wonderful. The way the movie takes the time to tell "the story of the apartment" or the origin of Knockout Ned, or the many ways in which decisions and actions from years back come back later.

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Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:53 pm

Blonde Almond

Cinematographer

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 2:41 pmPosts: 504Location: The Desert

Re: Last Movie You Watched

The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie - After three failed attempts at connecting with the films of John Cassavetes, I went into this 1976 effort free of any preconceived notions of finding greatness. Instead, I tried to take the film on its own terms, and it helped that I was interested in seeing how the filmmaker handled what I suppose could be called a "genre picture," in this case a gritty crime thriller with subtle noir influences. And maybe it was this more open approach, but I got more out of The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie than the other, more lauded, films of his I've seen. It isn't what I'd call a great work, or even a particularly successful one, but it did manage to catch my interest (for the record, after my experiences with the interminably long Faces and A Woman Under The Influence, I opted for the shorter, 108-minute cut) The narrative is intentionally spare. introducing low-rent strip joint owner Cosmo Vittelli as a man in a perpetual state of debt to the wrong people. After burying himself into a deep hole with little chance of climbing back out, Cosmo is offered a deal: kill the titular Chinese bookie of the title, and the debt will be erased.

That sounds like well-worn genre material, but truthfully Cassavetes never seems particularly interested in standard plot mechanics. The lack of interest is a problem though, as it lends The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie an uneven quality, meandering and lackadaisical without much of anything in the way of high stakes. But there's real interest in the Cosmo character. As played by Ben Gazzara, Cosmo is an odd little creation, a loser who is nevertheless able to find comfort and happiness in his work running his sleazy strip joint. This is a guy who, on his way to commit murder, stops at a payphone to call his club and check in to see if everything is running smoothly, so devoted is he to his place of business. All it takes is a couple minutes watching one of the "performances" in the club to get the place is a complete dive, but to Cosmo it's Heaven, a place where nothing ever happens and where he can hold power and control over his life. The performances in Cassavetes films have always struck me as a little "off," too self-aware and theatrical, but that wasn't a problem for me here. Gazzara's performance feels genuine, and I think that quality helped me for the first time to appreciate a Cassavetes work outside of its place in history. 6/10.

Zatoichi's Flashing Sword - The seventh film in the Zatoichi series. Director Kazuo Ikehiro returns for his second turn behind the camera, but the results here are slightly less satisfying than they were in the high-energy Zatoichi And The Chest Of Gold. After a cheeky introduction demonstrating that not even flies are safe from Zatoichi's cane sword, the real action begins when the blind swordsman suffers a serious wound from a musket bullet. After being nursed back to health by a traveling woman, Zatoichi journeys to her hometown to thank her properly. Upon his arrival, he learns of an upcoming fireworks celebration, and also of the usual strife plaguing the town. Despite the danger, Zatoichi decides to stick around, both to help his rescuer and to take in the fireworks show (even though he can't see them, he enjoys the sounds they make and the images they spark in his mind).

The Zatoichi films have never been what you would call extravagant productions, but this is the first film in the series that comes across as a little "cheap." The action is relegated to only a handful of low-key settings, and scenes oftentimes play out entirely in wide shots, as if there wasn't enough time to get all the proper coverage needed. Zatoichi himself is left languishing on the sidelines for most of the running length. He's never been the most active of screen heroes, but here he's not much more than a bystander to the main action, and for the first time in the series star Shintaro Katsu is offscreen for significant stretches of time. But much like Zatoichi The Fugitive, Zatoichi's Flashing Sword really comes alive when the swords start flying, and a couple of these scenes stand out as some of the best in the series. The first is a mid-film fight sequence between Zatoichi and a group of attackers that occurs entirely in water. The second is the film's closing setpiece, a nighttime bloodbath punctuated by multicolored light as fireworks explode from above. This sequence contains what may be the definitive action moment of the series, a corridor standoff where Zatoichi systematically slices through a line of candles, shrouding himself in darkness and leveling the playing field against his sighted opponents. Even though much of Zatoichi's Flashing Sword quickly passes from memory, I doubt I'll ever forget the film's most rousing moments. 6/10.

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What a film, seriously, all the way down to the zombie toxic waste death scene

It's such a great film, really one of the best sci-fi films ever made. Too bad the remake will probably suck.

It's absolutely one of the best ever.

I watched it last night with a forensic attention to detail and the whole thing is amazing. The action is grotesque, sure, but befitting the dystopian environment, but most importantly crystal clear in its execution. There's never any ambiguity about what's happening.

And the satire is just fabulous. Pretty much every scene lampoons dystopian corporate culture. The horrendous commercials that interrupt the news (including family board games where the aim is to nuke each other); the news itself which includes items such as 2 former presidents dying in an incident where a laser is accidentally fired from space, and South Africa turning a nuke in their own population. The dreadful TV show that the populous contrive themselves to laugh at. The way the OCP board casually dismiss as a financial hiccup the murder of a lower level functionary by their prototype, monster, law-enforcement robot.

Peter Weller gives a genuinely good boy-scout-turned-hard performance as Murphy/Robocop; and the villains, Dick Jones and Clarence Boddicker, are truly nasty as the opposite sides of the criminal coin.

Robocop is remembered as a genre film, so will never be considered to be truly great. But I think this is mistaken. It's a satire in the style of a genre film. And not only that, but one that can provoke a fair bit of emotion when it chooses to.

Robocop is tight, economical (not a scene is wasted in progressing the story, which for this kind of film is great), very well-acted with just enough irony, and Directed in a clear, logical, precise and exciting fashion.

And how can I forget the guy who takes the mayor hostage, demanding a sports car that has "really shitty millage"; before being punched through a window by Robocop.

People demand the American dream for the sake of it, good or bad.

I was nearly in tears laughing at this.

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Wed Feb 05, 2014 6:19 am

CasualDad

Cinematographer

Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:19 pmPosts: 621

Re: Last Movie You Watched

Loved Robocop. Not for everyone, but from a guy perspective it works amazingly well. I've never met anyone as evil as Dick Jones, but it is scary that I've met quite a few executives are similar enough to Dick Jones to add a realistic element to the exaggeration. Just one of many in the film.

Re-watched Braveheart over the weekend. I had forgotten just how effective and visceral the movie is.

Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:35 am

thered47

Assistant Second Unit Director

Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:38 pmPosts: 193

Re: Last Movie You Watched

Terminator

Not a great action movie by any stretch, but holds up well all these years later (except the climactic scene does have some bad special effects). What I thought was interesting was how certain lines, not only became famous, but took on different meanings over time, such as "I'll be back". Reminded me a bit of Halloween, with the implacable killer who just won't stop.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

I have to admit that this is probably one of the best action movies ever. Saw it as a kid, but appreciated it more as an adult. Definitely the best of the series and the transforming terminator effects still hold up today. I also liked how it touched upon more philosophical issues but didn't get bogged down with them. Plus the relationship that develops between John Connor and the Good terminator was kind of touching without being too cutesy.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Eh... this isn't too bad, some nicely executed action scenes along with a few provocative elements (such as when the Terminator admits that he was the one who killed John Connor in the future) but the relationship here isn't as well developed and the formula has worn thin at this point.

Terminator: Salvation

I liked this one better then most people did and would probably rank it as the second best of the series after Judgement Day. While the middle gets a little bogged down, it does an adequate job of continuing to explore the questions of what seperates man from machine that were raised in the second film. It's other strengths include breaking the mold which ended up bogging down the third film and the post apocalyptic setting, which I tend to appreciate in general.

If I were to rank the films it would like as follows:Judgement Day 3.5 out of 4 starsSalvation 3 StarsTerminator 1 - 3 StarsRise of the Machines - Toss up between 2.5 and 3 stars

If I were to rank the films it would like as follows:Judgement Day 3.5 out of 4 starsSalvation 3 StarsTerminator 1 - 3 StarsRise of the Machines - Toss up between 2.5 and 3 stars

I'm pretty sure that's exactly how I'd rank them too.

_________________Sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel, and from here on out I'm not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I've already felt.

Wed Feb 05, 2014 12:53 pm

Ken

Director

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 6:26 pmPosts: 1728

Re: Last Movie You Watched

I rather like the first one and haven't seen the third and fourth, so maybe they're worth checking out.

_________________The temptation is to like what you should like--not what you do like... another temptation is to come up with an interesting reason for liking it that may not actually be the reason you like it.

Wed Feb 05, 2014 12:58 pm

Sexual Chocolate

Director

Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:04 pmPosts: 1748Location: New Hampshire

Re: Last Movie You Watched

T3 is good stupid fun. The first film is my favorite.

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Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:05 pm

peng

Director

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 10:42 pmPosts: 1378Location: Bangkok

Re: Last Movie You Watched

Being John Malkovich (1999)

The first half hour or so seemed relatively tame (or as tame as a movie with a low-ceiling workplace could be) after hearing so much about its reputation. But then John Cusack found that tiny door, and the film plunged us deep into its dense, wonderful world. For me it stops a little short of a masterpiece, because between many great scenes I feel the connective issues and the emotional cores are not engaging enough. However, those scenes come in quick succession, as exhilarating and original as cinema gets. They range from absolutely hilarious (Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich...) to deliciously surreal, like a chase through Malkovich's subconscious that reminds me, of all things, Buffy's dreamlike "Restless". The film might not be a personal favorite as I've hoped, but it is still delightfully unpredictable and highly invigorating. 8.5/10

Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:17 pm

Gedmud

Second Unit Director

Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 1:43 pmPosts: 341

Re: Last Movie You Watched

Ken wrote:

I rather like the first one and haven't seen the third and fourth, so maybe they're worth checking out.

I think Salvation is really good, with one glaring flaw near the end. And T3 is like, meh, but not horrible.

_________________Sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel, and from here on out I'm not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I've already felt.

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